A no-confidence resolution cannot be moved while the Assembly is considering demands for grants submitted to it in the Annual Budget Statement. This restriction is operative only during the demands-for-grants stage. Once that stage concludes, the restriction lifts.
Why it matters for the National Assembly proceedings?
This balance reflects the importance of the budget process. Introducing a constitutional crisis during budget deliberations would risk disrupting the fiscal calendar and leaving the government unable to authorise expenditure.
What is in it for citizens?
Citizens following both budget proceedings and political developments need to understand this time restriction. If a no-confidence notice is filed just before budget season, the legal question of whether the motion may proceed is determined by where the Assembly is in the budget timetable. This provision has real significance in any political crisis overlapping with the federal budget calendar.
Source: Rule 37(5), Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007
The proceedings of the National Assembly are governed by the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007. The current rules were passed on 23 February 2007 and have since been amended 21 times, most recently on 22 October 2024.
This post is part of FAFEN’s series on parliamentary literacy. Read more of this series here.
